Executive coaching in the SSE EMBA

According to Carissma, one of the most valuable parts of the Executive MBA at the Stockholm School of Economics is its executive coaching program. She reflects that the experience was “such a privilege, now that I think about it.” (07:58)

To this day, she often finds herself reflecting on her experience with her coach. “I’m so grateful that that conversation happened…because you don’t think about it in the moment, but then when you look back [you realize how critical it was],” she reflects. (13:28)

Executive coaching allowed Carissma to grow as a person and a professional, connect with the right people, and make important decisions for her future.

She says, “My coach had the patience and the understanding to really ask me the right questions… sort of walk me through it and help me get through the different phases.” (12:40)

How taking an EMBA contributes to personal growth

Carissma admits that her Executive MBA “was a completely different experience” than she expected. (04:59)

At the outset, she had a lot of typical expectations for the outcome of her EMBA experience. She predicted that she’d enrich her academic and theoretical skills, jumpstart her career, and potentially increase her salary. 

Carissma feels that these considerations are fairly common for students and are also frequently-used “MBA selling points.” (05:40)

What Carissma didn’t expect was the profound personal growth she’d experience throughout her studies. It ended up being just as significant as her professional growth and caused her to “just throw out [all her initial considerations].” (08:27)

She describes how her thinking changed by the end of her EMBA: “What changed for me is that the questions I asked in the beginning of my [EMBA] and then when I finished were completely different. I just feel like I evolved so much…The theoretical stuff is good, but you get so much more out of it just personally. I think for me it was a lot of personal growth and just a lot of…development, just realizing who I am.” (06:31)

Why taking an EMBA benefits both students and employers

Executive MBA programs are designed for professionals who are well-established in their careers and want to work and study at the same time.

This isn’t only advantageous for the student, but it also offers incredible benefits to the company they work for. Instead of studying autonomously, students are able to take what they’ve learned in their EMBA program and immediately apply it back into their workplace. 

Specifically, Carissma explains that within the SSE EMBA “there’s a Change Life project that you can do and one of the big benefits is that you can do it within your own organization. You actually have experts from the SSE looking into a problem within your organization and trying to fix it.” (17:51)

This is an amazing opportunity for students and employers alike. Of course, the student gains valuable professional experience and knowledge they’ll be able to apply for the rest of their career. However, their employer also gets to improve their business by investing in their own people.

Want to read more about how an MBA can benefit you? Check out “What is an MBA?“